Tips for Costume Non-Prescription Scary Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are not just a practical solution for vision correction; they can be a lot of fun, too. Even people whose vision is fine will sometimes buy scary contacts to alter the appearance of their eyes for Halloween, Mardi Gras or other occasions. They can get non-prescription lenses (since no vision correction is needed) that come in a variety of colors and designs, depending on the occasion or their preferences. However, in order to make the contact lens wearing experience safe and worry-free, anyone using costume non-prescription scary contact lenses will want to adhere to a few basic tips.

DO Get Your Contacts Fitted Properly

Even though costume non-prescription scary contacts may not require a prescription, since they don't involve any vision correction, you would be well-advised to have your doctor fit them properly for your eyes. Poorly fitted lenses can cause abrasion, damage and infection to your eyes, especially when you engage in a lot of activity and staying up half the night (which is not uncommon at a Halloween party).

DON'T Share Your Contacts With Friends

Whenever you have something really cool, your friends always want to be first in line to try it themselves. You need to make it clear that this is not an option with your contacts, even if they do look like they are fun to wear. The membranes around your eyes are a perfect place to transmit bacteria from other people, even if care is taken to wash hands, wash the lenses, etc. Remember that contacts can still hold bacteria inside them, which could be passed to anyone wearing them. Be prepared to resist the peer pressure to give in and share your contacts. It's not worth waking up the next morning with a severe case of pink-eye or worse.

DO Remove and Clean Your Contacts

Although you may feel like your costume non-prescription scary contact lenses are like a "toy", don't let this make you feel like you can lower your guard when it comes to caring for your contacts. Even costume lenses need to be properly removed, cleaned and stored like any other prescription contacts. Just like sharing your contacts, failure to properly clean and store them can just as easily lead to infections or eye injury.

DON'T Wear Your Contacts Too Long

Halloween parties and other celebrations can often last all night. If so, it's tempting to just keep wearing your costume contacts on into the next day, rather than hassling with taking them out and cleaning them. Unless your contacts happen to be designed as "extended wear" lenses, you need to remove them after an average day of wearing them, so you can clean and store them, and give your eyes a rest. If you're at one of those all-night parties, plan to take a lens case with you so you can excuse yourself to the bathroom and remove your lenses for a few hours. Your eyes won't be scary-looking for a little while, but that's a small price to pay to keep your eyes healthy and safe.

DO Have Fun With All of the Options Available

On the positive side, feel free to have a blast entertaining your friends with the freaky visual effects that can be achieved with costume non-prescription scary contact lenses. Not only do they look really cool, but you can increase the visual impact with various facial expressions, eye-rolling and eyelid movements. Experiment and pay attention to your friends' reactions to gauge which combinations get the best reactions from other people.

DON'T Use Contacts Than Interfere With Your Vision

One important point to note - some contacts change the color of a major portion of your eye by covering those areas with opaque coloring. Be very careful that you do not use a lens that may actually block part of your field of vision if you are going to have to be driving or engaging in some other activity where interference with your vision can be dangerous. If your lenses block any of your vision, an option is to temporarily remove them (be sure to clean and store them in a lens case) so you can drive, etc., and then you can re-insert them when you are going to be at a party for awhile where they won't be a danger to you.

DO Have a Good Time

This may sound like a lot of DO's and DON'Ts, but the main point is to make the experience safe and healthy so you can really enjoy the fun of freaking-out people at your Halloween party or other celebration. You'll probably have so much fun with your costume non-prescription scary contact lenses, that you'll want to repeat the experience again next Halloween.

Theatrical Contact Lenses